


Sugar, We're Going Down (Swinging)

by Monstacatz



Category: SPN, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Bunker Fic, Canon-Typical Violence, Guilty Sam, Hurt Gabriel, M/M, Men of Letters Bunker, Oblivious Castiel, Oblivious Dean, Winged Castiel, Winged Gabriel, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-25 20:21:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9842324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monstacatz/pseuds/Monstacatz
Summary: The world is crashing down around everyone again, but this time even the Winchesters can do nothing to stop it.Even with two angels by their side they're powerless to do anything but try to survive this and help rebuild the world on the other side of this disaster.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi so yeah I'm writing this trope! I'm forcing myself to post this first chapter as motivation to write more of it and get over my writers block.  
> But hey, bonus, if nobody likes it I won't have wasted too much time writing loads.  
> On the off chance you do like it, please let me know, I'd like to know if I should continue with this! Critisicm is welcome too of course.

It had spread quietly, without any fuss, infecting people young and old. The only symptoms that showed up were akin to those of the common cold. Sniffling, coughing, sometimes puking. Hospitals were overrun with patients day in day out, all of them concerned with the illness because it was affecting so many people. Doctors then tried to pass it off as a new mutation of the Flu.

Then the symptoms changed. Overly aggressive behavior, patients falling into trance-like states for hours on end, and, in some of the cases where the patient had been infected for a substantial amount of time the skin started to deteriorate along with the trances lasting longer; days, sometimes weeks.

The government was unwilling to admit there was a serious dilemma, not wanting to throw the States into a mass panic but it was getting harder and harder to deny that this disease would soon become a worldwide epidemic.

Eventually, they decided to issue a warning. It broadcast on every device possible, filling every screen in every home that was connected to the internet. They made a pretty standard announcement, stating that the widespread nature of this illness was becoming a cause of concern and recommending that parents keep their children inside and to only leave the safety of a house when absolutely necessary.

But if their intention was to stop panic they had left it much too late. As soon as the first attacks happened news channels and online journals were all over it, reporting how infected people had turned permanently entranced and aggressive. Reports flooded every social media site, telling tales of how a whole town had been evacuated when a hospital was overrun with patients that had caught the illness and attacked any living thing in their path.

Everybody tried their best to stay calm but between conspiracy theorists filling every website they could with gruesome predictions of this epidemic and children who had spent too much time playing video games yelling about zombie apocalypses, everyone was getting uneasy.

When the video footage came out of an infected person attacking a nurse and biting a chunk out of her arm, the real panic set in. Doors and windows were boarded up and supermarkets were raided like how the movies portray it. People fought over items and stocked up on guns and any weapons they could get their hands on.

Luckily there were people who were prepared. One of them was Dean Winchester, another his younger brother Sam. After spending their entire childhood hunting supernatural beings because of their dad's obsession over their mother's death the two felt that they were adequately prepared to deal with the end of the world. After all, it wasn’t their first apocalypse. 

The brothers had come into the possession of a large underground bunker in Lebanon, Kansas which was their safe haven. Although none of the wards that usually kept out the monsters they were used to would stop the infected from entering their home the two had it covered with plenty of weapons and resources. 

As the two of them pulled up to the entrance to the bunker in the eldest brothers’ 1967 black Chevy Impala, back from a supply run to a town that was still relatively functioning, they were met with the unsettling sight of Castiel and Gabriel, two angels. 

The seraph Castiel was battling against three of the infected with his Angel Blade, stabbing one through the frontal lobe while elbowing one behind him in the face. When those two were grounded he pushed his blade up through the chin of the third. Yanking his blade out with a squelching sound he stormed over to aid his brother.  
Gabriel, an Archangel who had escaped to earth to avoid fighting, was having a little bit more difficulty plowing down the infected like his younger sibling. There was one pinning him to the ground while three more circled him, clawing at any weak spot.

Sam quickly checked his gun and slammed the Impalas door open, diving out of the car before Dean came to a halt. He shot down two of the infected circling Gabriel and joined Castiel in yanking the one pinning him up off him. Castiel took care of that one while Sam put a bullet in the brain of the third attacker.

Sam pulled Gabriel to his feet and ushered him over to the car, followed by Castiel. He shoved the Archangel into the back of the Impala, sliding in after him and shutting the door to a shuffling individual. Castiel took down one more shuffler before swinging into the passenger seat, his signature trench coat slightly bloodstained and his hair ruffled. 

“Hello, Dean.” 

“Cas! What the hell happened? You know what, never mind that for now. We gotta get all this shit into the bunker without any extra guests following us home.” Dean gestured to the shopping bags overflowing all over the backseat and now Sam and Gabriel’s laps.  
Castiel nodded solemnly. “Of course. My apologies for leading them here.”

Dean side-eyed him, seeing that he was serious. “Don’t be an idiot Cas, you know we’d rather have you than not. So who cares if you guys brought a couple shufflers along for the ride? We’ll deal with them once we get all our shit inside, sound like a plan?” Castiel nodded again.

“Uh, Dean?” Sam’ voice came from the back, a worried undertone carrying through. 

“What?” He replied. “Might wanna kick this thing into gear, more are headed this way, must’ve either heard the fight or the engine.” Dean grimaced as he saw the approaching group on the horizon and quickly drove the Impala into the hidden garage. As soon as the large doors closed he hopped out and attached three heavy padlocks to the bottom of the bay doors, just in case of a power failure. 

Behind him, the other three exited the car and grabbed some of the bags. Between the four of them, they had them all brought into the assorted rooms they belonged in and stored away in a little under twenty minutes.

They all met in the War Room and sat down, glancing at each other grimly. Gabriel was the first to break the silence. Sam noticed only then that he hadn’t spoken since they had saved his ass out there.  
“So, what’s the plan?” Dean glared at him.

”What makes you think we have a plan? You’re the Archangel here.” Gabriel snorted and turned his attention to Sam. “Yeah but this isn’t exactly your first apocalyptic situation is it?”

Sam shook his head. “No, but it’s not your first either.”

“True, but you two wonder boys and I are different, I’ve never stopped the end of the world, whereas you guys have quite the track record for it.” 

Dean got up in search of alcohol and came back with a bottle of whiskey and four glasses.

“For now the plan is to get drunk off our asses and deal with this crap tomorrow, any objections?” Silence. “Okay then.” He poured out four measures of the amber liquid and slid them across the table so everyone had a glass.

“To the third, or is it the fourth? Apocalypse. Let's hope we survive this shit, and if we don’t, that we at least go down swinging.” The four of them raised their glasses and downed some whiskey, kick-starting the night.

Several hours later, Sam and Gabriel could be found sitting on the couch and arguing over the best form of exorcism while Gabriel, with his ever-present craving for sweet things, sipped straight vodka with skittles in the bottom of the glass and sucked on a lollipop between debates over wording and sigils.

Dean, on the other hand, was in the kitchen cooking up some burgers as Cas had mentioned a craving for one and set Dean’s mind (and stomach) on the idea of a delicious, warm meal. Castiel himself was sat at the table practically drooling from the tasty smells wafting around the room from the stove.

“Dean?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Do you think it is possible for us to stop something of this scale? Or is it a lost cause?” 

“I don’t know Cas, we gotta at least try, don’t we? Much as I hate to admit it, Gabriel is right, we do have track record of, well, throwing the end of the world off its tracks.” Castiel nodded.

“I suppose that is true.”

“Yeah, it is. And even if we can’t stop it, we’ll live through it. I’ll do my best to protect my own, and I know everyone else here will do the same. We’ve got each other's backs, like always, and really that’s what matters most at times like these.” He concluded by flipping a burger onto a bun among Cas’ favorite toppings and serving it up on a plate. He dished up his own and brought them both over to the table where Cas was seated, placing one plate in front of the angel and sitting himself down beside him.

“I say in the morning we go out and clear off any stragglers outside, then decide what to do from there.” Castiel nodded his agreement.  
“That sounds like a start. I am truly sorry for drawing them here, it was unfair of me.”

“I meant what I said Cas, don’t be sorry, you’re always welcome here with me and Sammy. Especially in circumstances like these. Besides, if you hadn’t shown up we would’ve had to have come looking.”   
Castiel took a bite out of his burger to hide his small smile at the hunter's words. Even with what must have been a record-breaking tolerance for alcohol the older Winchester seemed to be feeling the whiskey he’d been drinking all night.

Dean snorted out a laugh and Castiel looked at him questioningly.  
“It’s like you’re my lucky angel. With you here, we can do whatever!” He trailed off into more laughter. Cas’ cheeks flared pink but Dean was too busy amusing himself to notice.

“Dean? I think it’s time you got some sleep.” The angel stood and offered a hand to Dean, who took it and allowed himself to be pulled up from the table. 

“Yeah okay.” He was slurring slightly and when he was upright he stumbled into Castiel, who caught him and draped one of his arms around his shoulders. Then Dean caught sight of the food on the table, a stricken look on his face. “I can’t sleep, I need to eat that!”   
Cas huffed a laugh at him and shook his head. “You can have it for breakfast, let’s go. You need to recuperate and be in your best fighting condition for tomorrow.”

Dean grumbled something incoherently. “What was that?”  
“Nothing.”

Castiel sighed and half dragged the hunter to his room, setting him down on his bed. He watched Dean struggle with his boots for a couple of seconds before he snapped his fingers and left him void of all clothes bar boxers. 

Dean yelped and scrambled under his covers, giving Cas a dirty look.   
“At least buy me dinner first!” Castiel cocked his head in confusion and squinted at him. 

“What do you mean? I thought you would be more comfortable without them. I did not mean to imply anything sexual.” Dean was blushing profusely and he had pulled the duvet up to almost his chin.

“Yeah, yeah okay. Night Cas, thanks for the, uh, help.”

“There’s no need to thank me, Dean. Sweet dreams.” Cas left the room smiling and turned off the lights, shutting the door after him.

In the sitting room, Sam and Gabriel had long since given up bickering over exorcisms and moved on to other arguments, the same ones as usual really. Sam would start by asking about Gabriel’s time as the Trickster, or ask too many touchy questions about his family and why he’d abandoned heaven all those years ago. Gabriel would get defensive, and eventually, try as he might to hide it, upset. 

Though to his dismay, it appeared Sam could actually suss out when he was upset by his questions. It wasn’t as though he’d openly stated that he’d notice but Gabriel was no idiot, he could hear the change in the younger Winchester’s tone, the way he seemed to just soften entirely. He hated it. It made him feel weak and like he had to be babied.

So he’d snark up a storm to cover it all up and make Sam return to his usual self. At least, that’s what would usually happen.   
This time though it hadn’t, although they’d gone through the motions of all their previous conversations just as normal; but when Sam, who was almost certainly a little drunk, had realized that he’d overstepped his bounds and saddened the archangel he had outright apologized.

While Gabriel was still in shock from that Sam had moved closer to him and put his arm around his shoulders, pulling him in close to his side. Because of their height difference Gabriel still only really came up to Sam’s shoulder even when sitting down and instead of fighting the gesture Gabriel sighed and leaned into the hunters side-embrace, resting his head against his shoulder.

“Thank you.” He said it quietly, almost a mumble, but he knew Sam had heard him.

“Don’t mention it. You’ll be okay, y’know? You’re strong. Stronger than I am at least.”

Gabriel snorted at him. “I’m not. I’m not either of those things, least of all strong.” He sighed again. “I’m a coward Sam, I ran away from heaven and hid. That’s who I am.”

“It’s a part of who you are, Gabriel, not all of you. Stop being so hard on yourself, nothing that happened was on you.” The archangel shook his head.

“I hate to say it Sammy but you’re wrong on this one. Things might’ve gone differently if I hadn’t chickened out.” Sam oddly enough didn’t bristle at the use of the nickname as he usually would when someone other than Dean called him that. He couldn’t really pin down exactly why he didn’t but a voice in the back of his mind was quietly whispering that maybe he liked the way it sounded in Gabriel’s mouth.

“Don’t be ridiculous, there’s nothing you could have done.” Gabriel stiffened against Sam’s side at the comment and the hunter back-pedaled quickly.

“No, no! I didn’t mean it like that, it's just-“ 

“It’s okay Sammy, you’re right.” He slumped back down into Sam, sounding defeated and looking down at his fidgeting hands. “I almost got my ass kicked by a half-dead human. I’m useless, especially as an Archangel.”

“Listen to me! That is not what I meant. What I mean is Michael and Lucifer were always going to fight, they would never have stopped. Not even for their little brother.” He sensed Gabriel going on the offensive again and rushed to talk before he could. “Trust me, I know. My dad and Dean may not have been archangels but they fought like all hell, and I could never stop them, never get between them no matter what I tried. Family fights are unavoidable and sometimes they can be ugly.” He squeezed Gabriel’s shoulders lightly but reassuringly and leaned his head down on top of the archangels honey-colored hair. “You did the best you could. I’m sorry for bringing it up.” 

Gabriel huffed out a sigh and crossed his arms. “Haven’t you heard the whole story from Castiel and a million and one other angels? Why do you bother asking me? It’s not something I like thinking about, y’know?”

“Well its true that I’ve heard the stories of Michael and Lucifer from Cas ‘and a million and one other angels’ but their story isn’t what I’m interested in if I’m honest. I’ve just always wanted to know what happened to you." Gabriel frowned in surprise and moved away from the hunter to look at him weirdly.

“Why would you want to know that? My story’s boring as hell compared to Mike and Luci’s prize-fight. Just your average angsty runaway teen who abandoned all his responsibilities at the first signs of his family breaking apart!” He had applied a falsely cheery tone to his voice and it slipped off towards the end, leaving the words bitter and full of self-loathing.

Sam let the silence stretch for a couple of seconds, thinking of the right words to say. 

“Gabe, come on. Stop picking yourself apart like that, I wanted to know about your side of the story because nobody else ever seems to ask. It’s like everyone wants to know about Michael and Lucifer but not you and I just don’t see why. You’re important too, far too important to be forgotten about.”

Gabriel thought over his words for a moment, then wrinkled up his nose. “What?”

“Gabe? Really?” Sam flushed a little, caught out for the slip of his tongue he was hoping would go unnoticed. 

“Out of all that, that’s what you pay attention to? A nickname, which by the way is fair play seeing as you called me Sammy earlier.”

“Oh ho ho, who’s getting caught up on nicknames now?” But Sam’s face told Gabriel he was serious. “Okay, alright! Fine. Thank you, is that what you wanted to hear, Sam? I know you’re lying to make me feel better, Dad only knows why you’re trying to be nice to me but I know what you’re doing.” 

“I’m not doing anything! I know you’re the Trickster but not everything is a joke, or a lie, okay? I really do just care about what happened to you, and I’m sick of hearing all about the other archangel dickbags when you’re still around.” Gabriel looked seriously confused.

“Uh, no offense Sammy but I think your heads screwed on a little too loose, I’m as big of a dick as every other archangel in existence. I killed your brother about 100 times all by myself and I fucked around with you both multiple times. Are we forgetting all of this?”  
“No, I remember all of it, of course I do. That Tuesday drove me crazy and all I wanted to do was choke you to death afterward, but then I realized that you were only doing it to save your own family, or at least to try. You just wanted us to play our parts and I can see that now.”

Gabriel shifted awkwardly. “I uh, I never apologized for being a total asshat, did I?” Sam shook his head. 

“No, but you don’t have to, I get-“ Gabriel covered his mouth with his hand and shushed him. 

“Just let me say sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, Sam. I mean I did want to hurt Dean a little to teach him a thing or two, but that’s beside the point. I’m sorry for what I did, to you and your brother.”  
Sam smiled at him, grateful even though he hadn’t asked for, or expected, such a sincere apology from the trickster.

“Thanks, Gabe.” The archangel wrinkled his nose again at the name but decided not to pass comment.

“Don’t mention it, Sammy. Maybe you should get some rest?”

Although Sam was surprised at the archangels seeming concern he nodded tiredly and yawned at the thought of closing his eyes for a few hours. He removed his arm from around Gabriel and rubbed at his eyes.

“You coming with or you staying here?” Gabriel froze and looked at the hunter who was now towering above him that he was standing.

“You’re kidding right?” The smaller man stood too, heaving himself up off of the couch because he didn’t like feeling any shorter than was necessary.

“No, I’m not joking, just figured you might get bored out here alone and there’s a draft in the corridors that make the rooms pretty cold at night.”

“How come it's not cold in here then?” Gabriel challenged.

“Because you were practically sitting on top of me and you’re warm as hell.” Gabriel wasn’t usually one to look embarrassed but he couldn’t help it, especially with Sam acting so calm and collected. 

“Look, it was just an offer if you’d rather stay out here, feel free. Or I could make you up your own bed in another room?”

The archangel thought it over and then shook his head. 

“You know what, I think I’ll take you up on offer numero uno after all.”

And that was how Sam and Gabriel ended up in a confused, sleepy heap that morning, struggling to untangle their limbs as the bunkers alarms went off with lights flashing red and Dean yelling out for Sam to wake the fuck up.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess heres round two, see what you think and leave a comment maybe? Thanks.

Just as Sam was assuming the worst, stumbling up out of bed, pulling Gabriel with him and gearing up for a fight he stopped. Gabriel was confused for a second, but then Dean careened in, laughing his ass off, followed by Castiel, who had a small smile on his face, which meant he was quite amused as well.

Both of them sobered up immediately at the sight of Gabriel standing shirtless and next to Sam, who had one of his signature and frankly terrifying bitch faces on.

“Dean, what the hell are you doing? Some of us have got hangovers!” Sam glared at him while he flushed, the older hunter obviously uncomfortable with the implications that having a half-naked Archangel standing next to his brother created.

Dean mumbled a quick apology and fled the room, closely shadowed by Castiel, who had refused to look at anyone since the joke fell flat.  
Before he left though, the angel looked at Sam, then his brother. 

“Dean plans on heading out to fight off the infected Gabriel and I led here yesterday in about twenty minutes, please be adequately prepared.” Sam nodded to him and the angel left, shutting the door behind him.

Sam groaned and sat down heavily on the bed, head in his hands.  
“What’s up with you sunshine? Not a morning person?” Gabriel quipped, taking a seat next to him.

“Not when I’ve gotten-” He paused to check the time on his bedside table. “-about an hour and a half of sleep and have a hangover, no.”  
“I can give you a hand with that hangover, which I have no doubt my little bro did for Dean-o, but the lack of lie-in time is all on him I’m afraid.” Sam nodded his agreement and Gabriel touched his fingers to the hunter's forehead, flipping a strand of long hair out of the way in the process.

Sam’s face instantly relaxed a little and he exhaled slightly, happy to not have to go into a fight with a pounding headache. Suddenly curious now, he looked to his side at the archangel on his bed.  
“So, did you sleep?” It was a trick question, of course. Sam knew that angels didn’t need sleep like humans did, he just wanted to take any chance he could to make the trickster uncomfortable or embarrassed.

It seemed to work at least a little as Gabriel’s cheeks colored the slightest bit, but Sam wasn’t really expecting his answer of “Yes, actually I did.”

He looked at him, sort of at a loss and Gabriel laughed.

“What’s the matter, Sammy? Expected me to have pulled a Castiel and ‘watched over you’ while you slept?” He put on a deep voice for the Cas part that sounded strangely accurate. 

“No, not exactly, I just didn’t realize you could sleep if you wanted to. Cas never mentioned.” Gabriel shrugged.

“Cassie won’t answer questions you don’t ask him, Sam, its half the reason him and Dean are still stuck having eye-sex. The other half, of course, is your dumbass brother and his heteronormativity.” The archangel rolled his eyes. “It’s not like angels are really even either gender, you should tell him to suck it up Sam, seriously. If their dragging it out is bothering me I can’t imagine how you must feel.” 

The younger hunter laughed and crossed the room to his chest of drawers, pulling out and dragging on a grey t-shirt that he then layered with a largely maroon colored plaid patterned shirt.

“Typical Winchester fashion sense, eh Sammy?” Gabriel commented from the bed. Sam turned to face him, rolling his eyes. 

“Shouldn’t you click up some clothes, smart-ass? You’re not exactly dressed and ready to kick some undead butt, are you?”

Gabriel winked at him and stood up. “Oh but Sammy, I can tell that you’re enjoying the view.” The hunter stuttered and flushed red whilst Gabriel laughed at him and snapped his fingers, clothing himself in a plain t-shirt and a faded army green jacket. The jeans he’d been wearing last night stayed put and he stepped into his boots which he’d left at the foot of the bed.

“I was not. Checking you out, I mean.” Gabriel smirked to himself and stretched, loudly. Sam wasn’t even sure someone could stretch loudly until then.

“Whatever you say, Samsquatch.” With that he’d disappeared from the bedroom, leaving Sam to grab some last minute stuff like the knife under his pillow and head to the War Room.

 

Sam was, unsurprisingly, the last one to make it to the planning area, due to his annoying wake-up call and the distraction of having Gabriel around.

When he entered the room Dean threw his hands up in the air in sarcastic celebration and slid a duffle bag full of weapons across the table.

“Hurry it up Sammy, I want to get this over with sometime today maybe.”

Sam rooted through the bag and grabbed a couple extra knives, assuming that due to the noise factor they’d have to watch the usage of guns so as not to draw a bigger hoard to their front door. 

Dean confirmed his thoughts seconds later. 

“Alright, now that we’re all here, here’s the plan: do everything as close range as possible and rely on knives, not guns. The sound will just attract more of the bastards here and that’s counterproductive to our goal.” The sound of silver angel blades sliding into Castiel and Gabriel’s hands was loud in silence of the room when Dean was finished talking.

Sam reloaded his magazine just in case of emergency and tucked his gun into his belt before fitting the smooth hilt of a knife into his palm. 

Although it's magic was useless against the infected people roaming outside, Dean was gripping Ruby’s knife in his hand and with the two now resident angels of the bunker armed with their blades too they all seemed prepared to head out.

Dean took the lead with a surprising lack of protest from the other three and as they crowded around the metal door he counted down from three and flung it open.

From then on out it was a brutal fight, the door hitting off of one former person as soon as it was slammed open and drawing all the attention of the mob to them.

Castiel immediately fell into battle mode and charged off into the crowds, slashing at the infected and smiting some that got too close range for him to stab.

Dean followed suit, yelling out obscenities and running the opposite direction from Cas to try and split the hoard into smaller sections. It worked, creating a divide down the center of creatures, each side either running towards Dean or clawing to enter the circle around Cas.

Gabriel, who was still unused to close combat after avoiding it for so long, broke out the archangelic powers he possessed and began flinging the rotting beings left to right and center, messing them around, smiting some and just all around fucking them up and toying with them.

Sam was last to join the fight, running into the crowd only after checking the bunkers’ door was securely shut and that he had the key on him. The last thing they would’ve needed would to be locked outside their only hiding place.

As the four of them slowly but surely thinned out the masses they slowly backed up towards one another, ending up with two teams of two fighting back to back. 

Castiel and Dean gravitated towards each other first, as they always tended to, and with the combination of their efforts, they managed to take down most of the half that they’d rushed off to when they’d left the safety of the bunker.

After years of fighting side by side, they both knew the strengths and weaknesses of the other and were able to take them into account, using them to their mutual advantages as the battle continued.

Sam and Gabriel, on the other hand, were pretty unexperienced coordinating themselves together, but both were capable fighters who had worked with other people before. This meant that although they weren’t as professional looking as Cas and Dean, they still got it done and took down the infected at almost as fast a pace as the dream team to their left.

Half an hour into the violent melee, the two hunters, although used to tiring hunts, were wearing thin. The four of them were covered in blood guts and viscera, all of them having sustained several wounds, but Sam and Dean were feeling them more than their angelic companions.

Dean had gotten whacked in the shoulder with a splintered baseball bat about halfway through and was only free to swing and stab with one arm, while Cas tried to cover him on the injured side. Both parties were frustrated that the angel couldn’t find a spare second to heal Dean, and it showed on their faces as they fought.

The big issue with Dean’s injury was that the walking corpses picked up on the fact that projectiles and even hand-held, makeshift weapons weakened them. They had never expected this level of understanding from the zombies, which is why they were caught by such surprise when the attacker had run straight for Dean with the bat.

All around the infected were picking up branches and stray nails and anything they could find to attack with. Some even ripped and shredded body parts of off fallen members of the pack to use as clubs. 

Dean yelled out something that sounded like “Abort mission!” Before Castiel was whacked with some poor sap's leg and he fell back against Dean. 

“Shit Cas, you ok?” Castiel glared at him.

“Now is not a good time for one of our talks Dean, as much as I enjoy them.” And with that, the angel spun and drove his blade into the chest of an oncoming attacker, apparently unfazed by the bitch slap he had just gotten from someone’s former thigh.

Dean reluctantly agreed with him inside his head and refocused on not focusing on the pain in his shoulder as him and Cas plowed through some rotting bastards to get back to the bunker. There was no way they’d win this fight.

Sam and Gabriel were struggling a little more with the ‘moving towards the bunker’ front, as the weapon-wielding corpses they were taking on were intent on pushing them back and away in the opposite direction. 

They fought diligently but it seemed that the closer Dean and Cas got to the bunker the more of the attackers they’d been taking on flocked to the other duo. 

Sam was considering grabbing Gabriel and making a run for it when he heard the archangel yelling at him.

“Sam, look out!” He spun on his heel and saw two significantly rotted former humans rushing at him, swinging planks of wood embedded with nails and practically foaming at the mouth. 

He would have been toast if it weren’t for the sudden flash of gold filling his line of vision. He had no time to register what it could have been though, because suddenly Gabriel was in front of him, telling him to run, and Sam was refusing, because he wouldn’t leave him there, never.

Gabriel was in the middle of calling him an idiot when Sam heard the sound of a blunt object thwacking something soft and several loud cracking noises like bones splintering. Gabriel’s sentence was severed with a cry of pain and he collapsed forward, the curtain of gold that had been blocking Sam’s view falling with him as the hunter jolted forward to catch him. 

His mind gone hazy with panic he finally made the connection that the curtain of gold that had protected him was Gabriel’s wings and that now he had to get the Archangel out of there before any more damage was done to him. 

He desperately called out for Dean and Castiel as he tried to fight off the infected that were attacking Gabriel’s exposed wings, using their assorted street weapons to create more sick snaps and cracks that had Sam wincing. 

Gabriel seemed to have passed out from the pain and, with no better options, Sam swung him up and over his shoulder to keep his hands free. The small angel was a lot heavier with the added weight of wings and it almost threw Sam off balance to keep him up. 

It only took Cas and Dean a maximum of two minutes to fight their way to them but it felt like years to Sam. Castiel’s face paled drastically underneath all the gore coating it when he caught sight of his wounded brother, hinting that it was as bad as it seemed, if not worse.

Dean looked shocked by the appearance and corporeality of the archangel's wings, but quickly gathered himself and took out two corpses, choking out a question of what the plan was through the ripe stench one of the dead victims had produced. That one had obviously been infected a while. 

Castiel smote the corpses between him and Sam and stepped up to the hunter, motioning for him to hand Gabriel over. 

“I’ll get him to the bunker if you can give me the key. You and Dean will have to stay here until I come back for you.”

Sam nodded and shifted Gabriel from his shoulder to bridal style as gently as possible before handing him off to Cas. Then he pulled out the key and handed that over too. 

Dean grabbed Cas’ shoulder just as he was about to go and leaned in, quickly pressing their lips together. 

“Just in case this doesn’t work out.” After all, the four of them had been having trouble fighting them off together once they’d gained weapons. Who knew how long he and Sam would last out against them, considering their injuries and draining stamina.

Cas looked confused for a split second but then he was gone, taking Gabriel with him.

Both Sam and Dean felt a bittersweet relief for about two milliseconds, glad that their angels were out of the center of the battlefield.

But then they realized that thought the angels might be, they weren’t, not yet, and they continued fighting.

Another time warp that stretched five or so minutes into days of fighting passed and then Castiel was there, grabbing hold of both Winchesters and zapping them back to the clearer area outside the door of the bunker. The three of them piled in and Dean slammed the door shut on the infected who’d noticed their escape. 

They heard them crash against the door and the snarls and growls of frustration that came from the barrier that protected them. 

Team Free Will took a second to catch their collective breath and then moved down the stairs and into the bunker.

Sam asked Castiel where he’d put Gabriel, rushing off to see him when the angel told him that his injured brother was in Sam’s room. He warned him that he’d knocked Gabriel out to help him heal and that he wouldn’t be able to talk to him, but the young hunter was already off like a shot.

Alone in the room now with Dean, Castiel turned to him and pointed an accusatory finger at his chest. 

“How dare you do that to me, Dean Winchester!” Dean looked lost as to what he meant, confusion filling his features. 

“Do what, Cas?” The angry angel stepped towards him threateningly and pulled him closer by his open flannel shirt.

Instead of the pain Dean was expecting from him though, he got something unexpected that clarified just what Castiel was talking about. The angel leaned in, much like Dean had earlier in the heat of the moment, and pressed a kiss to the hunter's lips.

It was over much faster than it needed to be and Cas stepped back, out of Dean’s reach.

“That. How could you have done that? What if you had died?” Dean stepped into the space Cas had just occupied and wrapped his arms around the angel.

Cas hugged him back like his life depended on it and rested his head on Dean’s shoulder.

“If I were to have died, at least I would’ve gotten to do that. I would’ve died happy.”

Cas pushed back again, glaring at him. “Yes, maybe you would have, but did you consider what that would have done to me? To have given me what I’ve wanted most for years minutes before it’s snatched away forever?” 

Castiel’s usually controlled tone was rising steadily, wracked with emotion that was usually kept under lock and key.

“Cas, I- I’m sorry. I thought you didn’t feel the same way.” Dean pulled the angel back to him, pressing him in close to his chest and guiding one of his hands up to his neck to feel his pulse. 

“Look, you see me? Feel my heartbeat? I’m still here. With you. I guess we were both idiots for not believing in each other, huh?” Cas nodded and leaned into Dean.

“Yeah, I guess so.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, its been almost a year since I abandoned this but my writing inspiration after Gabriel's return just keeps increasing, so let me know what you think and if I should just ditch this for good or not. :)

Sam wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting when he’d arrived at the door to his room, slightly out of breath from how fast he’d rushed through the bunkers halls; but he knew what he hadn’t been expecting, and that was to see Gabriel wide awake and sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

He stepped into the room more cautiously than necessary, especially considering that it was his own, and stood at the foot of the bed. He wasn’t sure what kind of mind game the angel was trying to play with him and made sure to stay wary of his intentions. It was Gabriel after all.

“No need to be so mistrusting Sammy, I promise I didn’t bust my wings for some sick little guilt game. I’d say cross my heart and hope to fly but, well, y’know...”

Sam’s face flushed red and he stuttered out an apology, pausing midway in his babbling when Gabriel raised his head from his palms and looked up at him.

"I forgot you could read my mind. I'm sorry, it's just the life, gotta stay on my toes and all that."

“Its okay, I know I’m not the most trustworthy of angels. I can see why you would think I have some kind of trick up my sleeve. But I really don’t, not this time.”

Sam still had a guilty look on his face, but rather than go through some more embarrassing half-attempts at apologies he moved to the edge of the mattress and sat down next to the shorter man.

“So then why? Why’d you do it? I’m guessing it wasn't exactly a walk in the park for you to get your wings bashed in, which by the way, you can make those things corporeal? Cas never mentioned that and-“

Gabriel held out a hand and stopped Sam’s stream of consciousness before it could tumble any faster from his lips. 

“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down. One question at a time, please and thank you!” Sam smiled sheepishly. 

“Okay, one at time. Let's start with 'why did you do it?'.” Gabriel shrugged his shoulders and then hissed out a gasp. Not his brightest idea. Even if they weren’t on this plane of existence currently, his wings were managing to manifest the pain streaking through them just fine on every level of reality. 

He waved away Sam’s look of concern with a dismissive hand. 

“Nothing to it really, it was a heat of the moment decision I guess. Protect the fragile human or let it die.” If Sam was offended at being called fragile, or it, he didn’t show it. 

“Right, except you, do realize I have about nine inches on you in height and no offense, but your vessel isn’t exactly bodybuilder material.” Gabriel took one look at Sam’s serious face and laughed himself almost to the point of tears. 

“What’s so funny?” 

“I cannot believe you just presumed I was only as strong as my vessel. I’ll have you know I could throw you from here to freakin' Switzerland if I felt so inclined.”

After another minute of Gabriel laughing intermittently, Sam finally glared him into silence.

“Alright, alright I was presumptuous and I suck, can we get over that now?” Gabriel held out a finger and purposefully coughed up a few more chuckles.

“Ok, ok I’m done.” 

“Great, finally. So...”

“Oh, my dad you are such a nerd! Fine.” Gabriel straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. “Ask away, I know you’re dying to hear about my wings.”

Sam’s eyes lit up almost like an excited puppy’s and he unconsciously leaned further towards the archangel, all intentions to press the archangel further on his reasoning for saving him momentarily forgotten.

“Okay, so, where are they now? Are they invisible? Can objects in this room affect them?” 

Gabriel covered his mouth with one hand, using the other to point accusingly at the hunter.

“Sam! What did we say about one question at a time?” Another sheepish grin graced the hunter's lips, the archangel could feel it from under his hand.

“Sorry.” He mumbled into Gabriel’s fingers. The angel removed his hand and wiped it on his jeans.

“To answer your first and second questions, my wings are currently on a different plane of reality and no, they are not so much ‘invisible’ as nonexistent on this plane.”

Sam nodded thoughtfully and Gabriel almost laughed because the young hunter looked like he was trying to hold himself back from rushing off to grab a piece of paper to take notes on. Nerd.

“And the third one?” Sam prompted, looking at the space behind Gabriel like he could see where his wings would arch out from his back.

“No, nothing in here could affect my wings right now, unless Cas was here.” Gabriel wanted to flop backward to show his boredom at talking about the logistics of his wings but he knew it would hurt, so he resigned himself to suffer through Sam’s inquisitive looks.

“Really? What would Cas being here do?”

Gabriel groaned and settled for tilting his head back and glaring up at the ceiling in exasperation. “Angel’s wings are all – I don’t want to say hidden, because they’re not really, we can all still see each other's but lets go with that, -hidden, concealed whatever you like, in the same level of reality, so obviously,” He reached out and whacked Sam across the arm lightly. “Things in the same plane can make contact with each other.”

Sam nodded and absentmindedly rubbed at his arm where Gabriel had hit it, not like it had hurt but it distracted him. “So, if Cas were here, his wings could like, damage yours more?”

“Well I mean, it depends if he was trying to damage them I guess, but it’s generally a bad idea to touch another angel's wings unless its 'grooming season' because it can screw with your grace during prolonged contact so I doubt he’d come near me. ‘Specially because I'm a big bad archangel and my grace is a lot stronger than his.”

Sam nodded again, then moved away and heaved himself up off the bed. “Okay, I think I’ve bothered you enough for one day, you should really get some rest.”

Gabriel frowned and stopped himself from reaching out to grab the hunters sleeve and pulling him back, instead opting to casually sit and call out to him as he reached the door.

“Hey wait, can I ask you a favor?” He kept his tone as casual as his sitting position and waited until Sam turned around with a raised eyebrow and a question in his eyes to continue.

“Could you check them out for me? One disadvantage of having extra appendages on your back is just that- they’re impossible to reach or even really see, properly.”

The look of shock and excitement on Sam’s face made it worth it to have asked, because, truth be told, wings were a very sacred thing to an angel and Gabriel was nervous about showing them to a human, let alone a hunter.

After all, asides from giving the hunter the unique experience of seeing an angels wings, Gabriel wasn’t lying when he said that he couldn’t reach them properly.

Sam shut the door of the room and stepped back towards Gabriel. 

“Are you serious?”

Instead of snarking at him Gabriel nodded and shrugged, ignoring the shooting pain it caused him. “Yeah, why not? I need help, you’re a total nerd. And besides, Cas can’t do it because of the grace fiasco and I think good ol’ Deano would rather just rip my feathers out.”

Sam nodded and sat back down on the bed behind the angel when he patted the covers.

“So, what do I-” Sam stopped midway through his sentence with a gasp of awe when, between one blink and the next, Gabriel’s wings manifested. 

There was nothing but the rustling sound that usually accompanied angel flight to even signify that they were suddenly there.

Sam gaped at them silently until Gabriel lifted a hand under his jaw and closed his mouth. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that staring was rude?”

Sam nodded without his eyes leaving his wings. “Yeah, yeah...” He mumbled distractedly.

He wanted to touch them so badly, just to really prove that they were real but he held back, not wanting to hurt Gabriel.

They were truly magnificent, even in their current state of disarray. The beautiful golden feathers had a slight sheen to them that shifted in the light and drew Sam's eye to every movement they made along with Gabriel's breathing. 

The archangel looked over his shoulder with a sarcastic remark on the tip of his tongue but he let it die there when he caught the pure amazement in the hunter's eyes. 

He rolled his own eyes.

"Okay kiddo, let's just get this part over with, yes you can touch them; just please avoid the bloody patches and any damaged feathers you see."

It wasn't until the angel had mentioned it that Sam noticed the blood-soaked and broken feathers clumped together and sticking out every which way, the patches concentrated towards the top of the now folded arch of his wing but also in any spots across the whole area of the appendage that the rotten corpses could reach.

Sam met his slightly amused gaze with his own surprised one. "Really? Are you sure?" 

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, amused look turning into an I-know-you-didn't-just-ask-that look in 0.3 seconds flat. 

"Okay, okay! Sorry, I just wanted to be certain." 

The hunter lifted his hand to the sandy gold feathers in front of him and touched off them lightly before he remembered that Gabriel wasn't a frightened bird that he had just rescued and stroked down them with a little bit more pressure. 

The movement caused some of the sheen-shifting action to start up again and Sam was quickly dragged into the mesmerizing look and feel of the feathers beneath his hand. 

Gabriel had originally stiffened at the first contact with his wing; it was a very strange feeling to have another beings hands touch them, especially those of a human, but as Sam stroked his feathers he felt himself involuntarily relaxing, which immediately made the pain sparking through him simmer down a bit. 

He hadn't even realized he'd been tensing them so much until he wasn't. 

After several minutes of both angel and human being distracted Gabriel copped on, shook his head, cartoon style and cleared his throat. 

"Okay kiddo that's enough, this isn't a petting zoo, it's the apocalypse." He had meant that to come out a lot harsher, but he had been enjoying himself much more than he had expected to and it showed in his voice. 

Nevertheless, though, Sam yanked his hand away like it had been burned and apologized.

"Sorry. They're just- wow. They're amazing."

Gabriel smiled at him. "Thanks, Samsquatch. If you like em' now you should see them on a good day." He laughed at his own joke for a second. 

"How bad is the damage?" Sam had a concerned look on his face as he studied the broken and bent feathers sticking out nearest to him.  
The archangel shrugged and then winced at the jostling the movement caused. "Oh, it's not that bad, just a few broken bones and such."

Now it was Sam's turn to give him the did-you-really-say-that face. 

"Alright fine, it's a whole crap ton of painful, most of the important bones are broken in my right wing and I don't know how long they'll take to heal, along with several surface wounds on both wings and a few raw patches where my feathers were ripped out. On the whole, the left is doing much better than the right cause I can somewhat move it without screaming, although the majority of the minor phalanges in it have snapped." He took a deep breath and dropped his head into his hands again. 

"That what you wanted to hear, Sam?" 

The Winchester shook his head. He stood from the bed and Gabriel was expecting him to leave, but instead, he walked around and sat down beside him so that he wasn't blocked off from vision by his wings.

He tapped him Gabriel on the shoulder lightly to get him to raise his head and then made eye contact. 

"No, I didn't want to hear that; you're right. Because it shouldn't have happened. This is my fault and I'm sorry that my lack of alertness out there caused you this much pain. I-mmhhh!"

With a click of his fingers, Gabriel silenced the younger man. 

"That's enough of that good old Winchester Guilt, Sammy boy! I did this because I wanted to, if I regretted it I would have let you die. Simple as. I don't want to hear anything more on the topic." 

Sam glared at him and mouthed some choice words in frustration before the hold on his voice was eliminated with another quick snap of the archangel's fingers.

"Fine." He grumbled, not all too happy with the level of control Gabriel had over him.

"You are still very much aware that I can hear your thoughts, right? For the last time, this was my own choice and it was not your fault." 

That was it. Sam was not going any further into the day without a proper explanation of the situation that didn't just consist of "you're a fragile human." 

Gabriel was usually secretive, yes, but at least he'd always cover up the truth with a joke of some sort. He was being way too serious to even lie properly.

"Fine, ok, say you did throw yourself under the bus just because I'm weaker than you, right? Then you would've had no problem doing the same thing if it had been Dean in my place, would you?"

Gabriel went from looking frustrated to mildly embarrassed for a quick second before regaining his composure. He hoped that Sam hadn't noticed but as per usual, luck was not on his side. 

"Yeah, that's what I thought. So why?"

Gabriel took a deep breath and cursed himself and every other being in the universe whose influence on him had led up to this moment. 

This was going to be embarrassing. 

"Well, I- it's just. Fuck kiddo, why do you gotta make my life so hard?"

Sam's face had taken on a concerned expression again, having never heard the archangel when nervous before. He never even thought him capable of stuttering like this. 

"Gabriel? Are you okay?" 

The shorter man huffed and threw up his hands in defeat, gesturing towards Sam as a whole. 

"See what I mean? Difficult!" 

Sam looked puzzled for a moment.

"What are you talking about?"

"Listen, just-just promise me you'll let me talk and then you can say whatever you want after, ok?"

The concerned look came back in seconds and Sam nodded warily. 

"I couldn't let you die because, well as I'm sure you're aware, I'm not the most universally liked creature in this universe or any universe. In fact, in most people's opinions, including many of my brothers and certainly yours, I deserve to be put to death and left to rot in an unmarked grave for all the things I have and haven't done over the course of my existence. You following me so far?" 

Another nod from Sam. 

"Great, so imagine you're me, millennia of existence behind you where you've been a total dick and driven away anyone who's ever cared about you, yeah? But then you run into some chucklehead who's heard all the nasty stories about you and still asks for your side of them before totally writing you off, it's gonna leave a bit of an impression on you, alright?" He trailed off quieter than Sam had ever heard him speak and dutifully studied the carpet fibers, looking anywhere but at the hunter beside him. 

Sam was more than a little bit taken aback. 

Sure he knew what Gabriel was like, but he never imagined that he'd been totally alone for so long because of it. He'd never stopped to think for a second that the charismatic archangel that he'd come to know was anything but sure of himself and just as cocky on the inside as he was on the outside. 

It made his chest feel weird and his heart stutter angrily at him to get a grip when he thought about Gabriel being almost...human in the way he felt emotion.

He hadn't realized he'd gone totally silent until Gabriel spoke up again, a look of total resignation on his face. 

"Finally managed to shut you up, huh? I'll keep it in mind. Don't worry, I don't have some weird crush on you or anything. I know it's more than a little pathetic to react so strongly to someone being nice to me, but it was something I hadn't experienced genuinely in a while." 

He got up to leave, not even sure where he was headed to. His wings dematerialized but the pained look on his face from his injuries only intensified at the movement of them. 

Sam reached out and tugged Gabriel's wrist as he tried to walk past, pulling him to a stop in front of him.

"Gabriel no, wait. That's not why- I don't think that you're pathetic at all. I just had no idea that you felt like that, it's a bit of a shock is all. And I wasn't just saying anything last night to be nice, it's 'cause I care about you. Even though you're a massive pain in the ass sometimes, it's good having you around."

The archangels forehead creased in surprise and he arched an eyebrow in disbelief. 

"No need to oversell it, Sam, I'm not going anywhere with my powers even if you all do hate my guts. This Archangel of the Lord is out for the count for a little while so I'll stick around and offer as much help as I can."

"Gabriel, Jesus no! That's not what I'm saying. I don't want you to stay around just because you're an archangel!" 

"Right, I'm sure you like me for my sparkling personality! Not. Its okay Sammy, I'm giving you a get out of jail free card here, take it and run."

"You're not listening to me, Gabriel! I don't care about what you are and what you've done! You're one of the most interesting people I've ever met and as difficult as you try to make it, I've actually ended up genuinely enjoying your company. Read my damn mind if you don't believe me!"

Gabriel took a second to focus and a kind of softness swept over his face for a brief moment. Sam nodded at him. 

"See? I'm not lying to you."

He was getting a little shaky on his feet and Sam noticed, pulling him back down beside him onto the bed. 

"Well, thanks, I guess. For caring." 

"You don't have to thank me. But you do have to get some rest or you'll never heal." 

"Kills me to say it, but you're probably right for once kiddo. So where am I headed then? To the dungeons?"

Sam shrugged and laughed.

"Yeah, you could say there's definitely a few options, it's a big bunker. You can take your pick tomorrow. But for now you should stay here and I'll sleep somewhere else for tonight." Before Gabriel could protest, Sam shot him a small smile and got up to leave. 

"I'll come back later and see how you're doing, but try and relax ok? Make yourself at home. And, Gabriel? Thanks."

"What was it you said? No need to thank me? Yeah, take your own advice kiddo." 

"You saved my life, I'm not going to let that slide."

Gabriel rolled his eyes and tried to ignore the part of his brain that was stupidly screaming to tell Sam that maybe he was going to end up saving his life too. Having something to live for sounded kinda nice, even if it was just finally having someone who cared again. 

He stood and followed Sam to the door, deciding on something still embarrassing but slightly less so than his previous thoughts.

As the younger Winchester turned to say goodbye at the door, Gabriel rolled his eyes at himself and stepped closer and into Sam's space. It had, admittedly, been a long time since he'd properly hugged anyone; but he'd watched humans do it a thousand times over as many years so he was sure he had the basics down. 

Sure, he may have held on a little tighter than was entirely necessary, but after Sam's initial surprised huff of air he wrapped his arms back around the angel, mindful of the spots on his back he knew would hurt, and pulled him in closer. 

Gabriel took a shuddering breath and pressed his cheek into Sam's chest, reveling without realizing it in the fact that Sam made him feel safe.

Sam held him for as long as he needed, not moving from the spot by the door and just kind of supporting as much of his weight as he could without the angel catching on. 

It was sort of nice to hug him and Sam felt himself smiling slightly into the smaller man's caramel hair and weirdly enough, wanting to run his fingers through it. He refrained from the latter but allowed himself the small smile that he couldn't seem to get rid of.


End file.
